Victoria: Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming three-day state visit “historic”, India’s High Commissioner to Seychelles, Rohit Rathish, on Friday, said it will strengthen the bilateral partnership for the future and help to expand ties into new frontiers.
In an interview with IANS, Rathish stated that the ties between India and Seychelles are “excellent and dynamic” and noted that the relationship has intensified and gained new momentum and energy under the guidance of PM Modi.
“This is a historic visit, a state visit of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Seychelles from June 27 to 29. As you may be aware, Seychelles is celebrating its 50th anniversary of independence, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited as the guest of honour for this particular celebration by the President of Seychelles, Dr Patrick Herminie. This is a historic milestone for Seychelles. We are also marking 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles. India and Seychelles enjoy long-standing historic ties based on people-to-people ties and cultural affinities. We also share the values of democracy and the rule of law, and we inhabit a shared region,” the envoy said.
“So, these are the anchors of our partnership for a long time and our cultural relations, our people-to-people ties even precede the establishment of diplomatic relations. In 1770, when this country was founded by French colonists and permanently settled for the first time, five Indians were part of the first settling community along with eight African slaves. So, our ties date back as far as 250 years. Today, Prime Minister’s visit, I think arriving at such a historic juncture in the partnership will strengthen our partnership for the future, will help it expand into new frontiers, and hopefully strengthen our people-to-people ties as well,” he added.
PM Modi will be travelling to Seychelles at the invitation of President Herminie, and is scheduled to address the Seychelles National Assembly and interact with members of the Indian diaspora.
On PM Modi’s engagements in Seychelles, he said: “The main objective, of course, he’s the guest of honour for the 50th National Day celebrations of Seychelles. But he will also have the opportunity to meet with President Dr Herminie and review the state of our partnership and discuss ways and means to strengthen our partnership in the future on a full spectrum of areas that include defence and security ties, health, education, infrastructure, development partnership, and capacity building. He will also have the opportunity to discuss with the Seychelles government, new frontiers of cooperation such as AI, cyber security, marine science and conservation, etc.”
Rathish lauded the role of the Indian diaspora in strengthening bilateral ties, calling them a “living bridge” between India and Seychelles. He also said that the diaspora members are excited to welcome PM Modi.
“The Indian diaspora in Seychelles is numerically significant when compared to the population. It has adopted Seychelles as its home for a long time. They are a living bridge between India and Seychelles and work to strengthen the socioeconomic fabric of Seychelles, as well as deepen the partnership between the two countries. As I said, just before, people-to-people ties and the human connections form the foundation of our partnership for a long time, and the Indian diaspora is proof that this is the essence of the partnership.”
“They are very excited to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the PM will also have the occasion to interact with them during his visit. I would say that we will also be discussing with the Government of Seychelles, the Prime Minister and President, on how we can improve our people-to-people ties, our cultural linkages, and also our business linkages, using the Indian diaspora as a bridge again, and to see how we can work on logistics, work on bilateral trade, work on improving air and sea connectivity etc,” he added.
Diplomatic ties between India and Seychelles were established after the latter’s independence in 1976. When Seychelles attained freedom in June 1976, a contingent from the Indian Naval Ship, INS Nilgiri, took part in the Independence Day celebrations. The Indian Mission was established in 1979 in Victoria, with the High Commissioner based in Dar-es-Salaam and concurrently accredited to Seychelles. The first resident High Commissioner was appointed in 1987, while Seychelles opened its resident mission in New Delhi in early 2008.
(IANS)
